Neuroinfections

Prosopagnosia, also referred to as "face blindness," is a type of visual agnosia characterized by a decreased capacity to recognize familiar faces with a preserved ability to identify individuals based on non-facial visual traits or voice. Prosopagnosia can be categorized as developmental (DP) or acquired (AP) owing to a variety of underlying conditions, including trauma, neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, neuroinfections, and, less frequently, malignancies. Facial recognition is a complex process in which different neuronal networks are involved...

BACKGROUND: The results of disparate clinical studies indicate abnormally frequent cases of certain microorganisms in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, these data require clarification and systematization. The study aims to study the structure of the microbial profile in children with ASD and genetic folate cycle deficiency (GFCD) and consider differences in diagnostic approaches for identifying microorganisms of different types. METHODS: The study analyzed medical data from 240 children (187 boys and 63 girls) with GFCD aged 2 to 9 years...

Viral neuroinfections represent a major health burden for which the development of antivirals is needed. Antiviral compounds that target the consequences of a brain infection (symptomatic treatment) rather than the cause (direct-acting antivirals) constitute a promising mitigation strategy that requires to be investigated in relevant models. However, physiological surrogates mimicking an adult human cortex are lacking, limiting our understanding of the mechanisms associated with viro-induced neurological disorders...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Pituitary abscess is an uncommon life-threatening disease that could lead to panhypopituitarism. It is important to suspect its prevalence in regions with endemic infectious diseases. CASE REPORT: A 55-year-old man, a farmer, with a background of consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, presented with headache, impaired consciousness, and fever that started in February 2023. Initial test results were consistent with neuroinfection. Brain MRI showed ventriculitis; the pituitary gland was heterogeneous with the presence of an 8 × 8 mm abscess...

INTRODUCTION: Neuroinfection is associated with the deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, and subsequent decrease in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid levels. However, whether autoimmune encephalitis involves extracellular deposition of Aβ peptides in the brain is unreported. METHODS: We examined CSF amyloid and tau values in adults with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDAR-E). Forty-two patients with NMDAR-E, 35 patients with viral and bacterial neuroinfections, and 16 controls were included...

The highly prevalent herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) causes a range of diseases, including cold sores, blinding keratitis, and life-threatening encephalitis. HSV-1 initially replicates in epithelial cells, enters the peripheral nervous system via neurites, and establishes lifelong infection in the neuronal cell bodies. Neurites are highly dynamic structures that grow or retract in response to attractive or repulsive cues, respectively. Here, we show that infection with HSV-1, but not with a mutant virus lacking glycoprotein G (gG), reduced the repulsive effect of epithelial cells on neurite outgrowth and facilitated HSV-1 invasion of neurons...

Most cases of acute infections caused by human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) are asymptomatic or very mild. Clinical symptoms disappear spontaneously; however, the infection becomes latent and persists for life with periodic asymptomatic reactivation. Little is known about the virus's ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Our case of an immunocompetent infant indicates that HHV-7 infection should be considered a cause of neuroinfection, not only in immunocompromised patients but also in the youngest immunocompetent patients...

Nowadays, the population is still struggling with a post-COVID19 syndrome known as long COVID, including a broad spectrum of neurological problems. There is an urgent need for a better understanding and exploration of the mechanisms of coronavirus neurotropism. For this purpose, the neurotropic strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV-JHM) originating from the beta-coronavirus genus, the same as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been used. The role of the cytoskeleton during virus replication in neurons in vitro was determined to understand the mechanisms of MHV-JHM neuroinfection...

Cerebral abscess is an uncommon complication of cyanotic heart disease. However, it has a high case fatality rate, and its management requires a multidisciplinary approach. Earlier diagnosis would result in a better outcome. In this report, we presented a case of a 6-year-old boy with a cerebral abscess and a large ventricular septal defect, which was treated surgically in a rural area with a limited resources facility.

Enteroviruses are one of the most common causative agents of infectious diseases of the central nervous system. They are characterized by genetic variability, the ability to infect a wide range of cells, including brain microglial cells and astrocytes, and persist in the central nervous system tissue, causing delayed and chronic diseases. The review presents data on the basis of neurovirulence of non-polio enteroviruses and the most common pathogens causing enteroviral neuroinfections.

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is not only one of the most fatal forms of tuberculosis, but also a major public health concern worldwide, presenting grave clinical challenges due to its nonspecific symptoms and the urgent need for timely intervention. The severity and the rapid progression of TBM underscore the necessity of early and accurate diagnosis to prevent irreversible neurological deficits and reduce mortality rates. Traditional diagnostic methods, reliant primarily on clinical findings and cerebrospinal fluid analysis, often falter in delivering timely and conclusive results...

BACKGROUND: Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is an emerging nosocomial pathogen implicated in neonatal sepsis with high mortality and morbidities. However, there is very limited data regarding the characteristics as well as outcomes following this infection, particularly in developing countries. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of all infants with culture-positive Elizabethkingia sepsis as part of an outbreak, to study their clinical and epidemiological characteristics, as well as their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, using a structured proforma from the neonatal intensive care unit database...

Brain abscesses are localized infections in the brain's parenchyma, characterized by inflammation, pus formation, and the development of a surrounding capsule. These lesions typically occur due to underlying factors such as immunosuppression, ear and sinus infections, and contamination during neurosurgery. While brain abscesses are a life-threatening complication of cyanotic heart defects, they are rarely reported, with only sporadic cases previously documented. This article presents the case of an eight-year-old male patient with an uncorrected transposition of the great arteries, who was evaluated for symptoms including headache, fever, and neurological focalization...

Few cases of disease by Kocuria kristinae have been reported, some in immunocompetent patients but mainly in immunocompromised. The current case report describes a 28-year-old female with an initial diagnosis of pituitary macroadenoma. After the initial surgery, the patient was readmitted due to tension pneumocephalus and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula. Cultures showed K. kristinae in the CSF and Candida albicans in the urine. The patient died after multiple complications. This is the first case of neuroinfection by K...

Mexidol (ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate) is a modern neurometabolic medication increasingly being used in neuropediatrics. The results of recent studies confirming the positive effects of Mexidol pharmacotherapy in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), perinatal damages of the central nervous system (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy) and their consequences, neurological disorders and neurodevelopmental delay after surgery for congenital heart defects, neuroinfections (meningitis, encephalitis), posttraumatic epilepsy...

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral tick-borne infection occurring in many parts of Europe and Asia as described in this review. Increasing TBE case numbers have been reported over recent decades. In Denmark the infection is rare (1-14 annual cases). The rise in TBE in Denmark is mainly driven by microfoci outside of Bornholm, primarily North Zealand. Clinical illness has a bi-phasic presentation: "summer-flu" which may be followed by a neuroinfection. No specific treatment exists, and mortality is less-than 1%...

Neuropilin 1 (NRP-1) inhibition has shown promise in reducing the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and preventing the virus entry into nerve tissues, thereby mitigating neurological symptoms in COVID-19 patients. In this study, we employed virtual screening, including molecular docking, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation, and Molecular Mechanics-Poisson Boltzmann Surface Area (MM-PBSA) calculations, to identify potential NRP-1 inhibitors. From a compendium of 1930 drug-like natural compounds, we identified five potential leads: CNP0435132, CNP0435311, CNP0424372, CNP0429647, and CNP0427474, displaying robust binding energies of -8...

INTRODUCTION: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a significant factor contributing to the incidence of seizures in developing countries. While numerous studies have investigated the recurrence of seizures in NCC, their reliability is often limited. METHODS: We assessed the socio-demographic, clinical, and neuroimaging details of 161 children with seizures caused by NCC. We monitored them for seizure recurrence over a 6-month follow-up period. We divided the children into two groups: those with seizure recurrence and those without...

Astroglia are a broad class of neural parenchymal cells primarily dedicated to homoeostasis and defence of the central nervous system (CNS). Astroglia contribute to the pathophysiology of all neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders in ways that can be either beneficial or detrimental to disorder outcome. Pathophysiological changes in astroglia can be primary or secondary and can result in gain or loss of functions. Astroglia respond to external, non-cell autonomous signals associated with any form of CNS pathology by undergoing complex and variable changes in their structure, molecular expression, and function...

Lipid droplets (LD) are evolutionarily conserved lipid-enriched organelles with a diverse array of cell- and stimulus-regulated proteins. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that intracellular pathogens exploit LD as energy sources, replication sites, and part of the mechanisms of immune evasion. Nevertheless, LD can also favor the host as part of the immune and inflammatory response to pathogens. The functions of LD in the central nervous system have gained great interest due to their presence in various cell types in the brain and for their suggested involvement in neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative diseases...